Roger Strong 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (3460)

• On the post: Swiss Court Sanctions Commenter For 'Liking' Defamatory Posts

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 31 May, 2017 @ 12:28pm

  That people routinely use "like" buttons to flag stuff they want to keep track of and re-post things they don't agree with apparently wasn't considered.

  It can also mean "Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention. Thank you for taking a stand on it."

  WITHOUT meaning "I have researched and confirmed your claim."

• On the post: Copyright Troll's Tech 'Experts' Can Apparently Detect Infringement Before It Happens

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 31 May, 2017 @ 09:35am

  Business Opportunity For Lawyers?

  I hope we'll see affordable lawyers specializing defending against these trolls. Affordable because they need only put up a token, bare-minimum fight in these cases, enough to make the troll drop the case.

• On the post: Strike Three: Lexmark Can't Use Patents, Trademarks Or Copyright To Block Third Party Ink Cartridges

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 30 May, 2017 @ 02:26pm

  Re: Re:

  Xerox did it. The Xerox 914, the first successful plain paper copier, had a tendency to catch fire. It came bundled with a "scorch eliminator" - a small fire extinguisher.

• On the post: Strike Three: Lexmark Can't Use Patents, Trademarks Or Copyright To Block Third Party Ink Cartridges

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 30 May, 2017 @ 01:09pm

  Re:

  I know MULTIPLE people who just bought a new printer everytime the ink ran out because it was cheaper
  
  That's why printers are now sold with cartridges that are only partially filled.

• On the post: Judge Orders Gov't To Stop Screwing Around And Hand Over Docs In Long-Running Surveillance Case

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 30 May, 2017 @ 07:16am

  Re: Re: Re:

  One of the major problems with the 'Collect it all, sort through it at our leisure' mindset that infects intel agencies is that when they actually do get important information it's almost certain to be drowned out by all the useless stuff.

  It means that one a terrorist emerges, the intel agencies can retroactively surveil them. Root through their phone, email and social media records and find out everyone they've been communicating with. Which lets them quickly round up the terrorist's support network and prevent future attacks. But it's too late to stop the initial attack even if there were signs and warnings that seem obvious in hindsight.

• On the post: Strike Three: Lexmark Can't Use Patents, Trademarks Or Copyright To Block Third Party Ink Cartridges

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 30 May, 2017 @ 01:04pm

  The Supreme Court is not impressed with the CAFC's pretzel logic and notes that it's pretty damn obvious that once you've sold a patented product, you've exhausted the right to pull back the license on that product and claim infringement:

  Have shrink-wrap licenses ever held up in court?

  If I purchase software or printer ink, take it home, tear open the packaging AND THEN find a license agreement, it's not just that the deal was already concluded before new license stipulations were presented. It's that there's no option to say 'no.' With the packaging opened, it can no longer be returned.

  If Lexmark can add stipulations at this point, then the user should be allowed to do the same. "By allowing the cartridge to function, once installed, Lexmark agrees to provide the user with unlimited free ink refills or other materials of equal value by weight. Also bacon."

• On the post: Intelligence Community Leaks Are Normalizing Domestic Surveillance Abuses

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 30 May, 2017 @ 07:06am

  There should also be a recognition that international surveillance can go both ways.

  There's a common theme with complaints by Americans about surveillance, drone strikes, kidnapping and torture programs and whatnot. (A June 2006 report from the Council of Europe estimated 100 people had been kidnapped by the CIA on EU territory.) That theme: It's all peachy-keen when they do it to foreigners, but HOW DARE THEY do it to Americans!

  As always, turnabout is fair play. If the US finds it acceptable to spy on the leaders, companies and citizens of allied countries - and they do - then it's acceptable for even allied countries to spy on Americans.

• On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 29 May, 2017 @ 07:29am

  Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

  I was referring to the "homeless, mental issues, gang members, turf wars" stuff. There's nothing new there, no increase. I agree with you about the police problem.
  
  I'm not surprised by it though. Decade+ hostile occupations of cities two war zones - where any civilian was a potential combatant and had to be treated as such - could have no other effect. Take those soldiers and their lessons learned and drop them in large numbers into police forces back home, and suddenly your police seem a whole lot less friendly.
  
  Handing them mountains of military weaponry at the same time - leading to SWAT raids targeting NON-violent offenders becoming common - hasn't helped.

• On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 28 May, 2017 @ 10:47pm

  Re:

  Violent crime and robbery rates in the US have been dropping for decades. The same goes for police fatalities. Even the great 1950s were a myth for most people. Society was just better at sweeping the problems under the rug. Nice try though. Let others praise ancient times; I for one am glad I was born in these. - Ovid (43BC - AD18)

• On the post: Piracy Killing Hollywood So Bad That Disney Made More Money In 2016 Than Any Studio Ever

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 26 May, 2017 @ 11:20am

  Re:

  Did any of these studios release a file that was not either a reboot or a sequel?

  Of course! There's also derived works and adaptations. You know, like ancient folklore, The Brothers Grimm and Jules Verne - where they don't have to worry about others' copyrights. Or a couple Disney movies based on modern anime, where the lack of worry about others' copyrights was apparently based on having a massive legal budget.

• On the post: Piracy Killing Hollywood So Bad That Disney Made More Money In 2016 Than Any Studio Ever

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 26 May, 2017 @ 10:58am

  Re:

  Three delusional claims in just one sentence. Mom's basement is a center of efficiency.

• On the post: Despite Claiming It's Now On Par With Apple, Comcast's Already Bad Satisfaction Ratings Are Actually Getting Worse

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 25 May, 2017 @ 08:51am

  Re: Re: Re: LOL

  Comcast Consumer Satisfaction Index* * Adjusted for Stockholm Syndrome.

• On the post: Cloudflare Ups The Ante In Search Of Prior Art To Invalidate ALL Patents From Patent Troll Blackbird Tech

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 25 May, 2017 @ 02:28pm

  (Adds popcorn to shopping list)

• On the post: UK Government Using Manchester Attacks As An Excuse To Kill Encryption

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 25 May, 2017 @ 01:46pm

  Will the encryption ban apply to online banking?

• On the post: Despite Claiming It's Now On Par With Apple, Comcast's Already Bad Satisfaction Ratings Are Actually Getting Worse

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 25 May, 2017 @ 06:54am

  Wrong Apple

  Apple was the name for a failed above-ground nuclear test in 1955. The primary failed, yielding much less than the predicted 40 kt. They later succeeded with Apple-2.

  All it succeeded in doing was helping to irradiate millions of Americans and drive up cancer rates. As such, Comcast may indeed get higher satisfaction ratings from Americans.

  But probably not.

• On the post: Congressional Rep Pushes His 'Hack Back' Bill By Claiming It Would Have Prevented The WannaCry Ransomware Attack

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 24 May, 2017 @ 10:58am

  Re: Right

  It certainly raises some interesting questions.
  
  Once legal, it's a lot easier to monetize "reverse malware" and hacking tools. Especially highly automated tools for small and medium companies who don't have hackers on staff.
  
  So... Would Microsoft roll their "hack back" tools into Windows Defender ("The best defense is a good offense!"), or do they monetize them as a new component in Office 365?
  
  /s

• On the post: Boston Globe Blocks Readers Using Privacy Modes In Browsers

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 24 May, 2017 @ 02:20pm

  Second, there is still a laughably easy workaround for anyone that wants to keep seeing free articles from the Boston Globe without a subscription: simply delete all cookies from the Boston Globe off of your computer and, voila, you get more free articles.

  My browsers are set to delete all cookies automatically when I close them. That's not to get free news; it's a basic privacy measure.

  It means I have to enter my Techdirt credentials once or twice a day, but that's a small price to pay.

• On the post: Congressional Rep Pushes His 'Hack Back' Bill By Claiming It Would Have Prevented The WannaCry Ransomware Attack

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 24 May, 2017 @ 10:03am

  Does this legislation strictly define the "cyber attacks" that let companies go on the offensive?
  
  Otherwise no doubt they'll adopt whatever definition suits them. Anything from perceived IP misuse to online criticism will no doubt be cited for "hacking back", just like it's routinely cited for DMCA takedown fraud and other unethical responses.

• On the post: Techdirt Podcast Episode 123: No, The MP3 Isn't Dead

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 23 May, 2017 @ 02:52pm

  Re:

  MP3 may not be dead, but it's obsolete.

  In related news: John Deere has announced that with the advent of their DRM-restricted tractors, owner-repairable tractors are now obsolete.

• On the post: Financial Times Editorial: Time To 'Ditch' Corporate Sovereignty In Trade Deals

  

  Roger Strong ( profile ), 23 May, 2017 @ 01:12pm

  Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

  It's no wonder one of Obama's first acts as president was to pardon the culprits.

  Citation....? If they're not charged in the first place, he has no power to pardon them.

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