saulgoode 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (351)

• On the post: Former NSA Boss Calls Snowden's Supporters Internet Shut-ins; Equates Transparency Activists With Al-Qaeda

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 06 Aug, 2013 @ 01:35pm

  Please stop calling them "intelligence agencies" -- they are not deserving of the moniker.

• On the post: Surprise: Obama's New US Trade Rep Overturns ITC, Stops Ban On Apple Products

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 05 Aug, 2013 @ 04:32am

  Samsung should seek to have the United States placed on the USTR's Special 301 Report.

• On the post: Georgia Claims Its Annotated Laws Are Covered By Copyright, Threatens Carl Malamud For Publishing The Law

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 30 Jul, 2013 @ 11:46am

  While US copyright law is clear that works of the federal government are not covered by copyright, that's not the case for state or local governments.

  
  I should think that all laws enacted by such legislatures qualify as "works for hire" (i.e., a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment, USC 17 ?101) and thus copyright ownership belongs to the employers (i.e., the taxpayers).

• On the post: Forbes Publishes Blueprints Of NSA's Massive Datacenter In Utah

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 25 Jul, 2013 @ 06:10am

  Re: I do not approve

  We should at least be granted access to it. Why should we have to pay for services such as Dropbox or Mega when all those files are being stored in a taxpayer-funded facility? Why should foundations such as Archive.org have to spend millions hosting a few dozen terabytes of data when we've are paying for the government to store hundreds of millions times that amount?
  
  Also, what law authorizes the government to make copies of all of the copyrighted works that invariably end up being stored on these servers?

• On the post: Congress Should Support Amash Amendment Just Because White House Statement Is So Insulting

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 24 Jul, 2013 @ 10:12am

  What Congress should find insulting is that for the last twelve years, the White House has ignored the clear meaning of the legislation that Congress originally passed.

• On the post: UK Prime Minister More Interested In Regulating The Internet Than Regulating Porn

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 24 Jul, 2013 @ 08:55am

  These bold "for the children" statements ignored the fact that both ISPs and search engines already actively block illegal images and supply info on these images to investigative agencies.

  The problem is that ISPs and search engines are currently doing this voluntarily. It would be much better (for overly repressive governments) if they were forced to do so by law; that way, when it is decided that other types of content should also be censored, the legal mechanism will be in place to do so.

• On the post: Texas School District Drops Embattled RFID Student IDs; Opts For Tons Of Cameras Instead

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 22 Jul, 2013 @ 03:43am

  One would think a better way to improve attendance would entail spending money on teachers and classrooms, not surveillance equipment.

• On the post: DOJ's New 'Less Likely To Spy On Press' Rules Only Apply To Whoever DOJ Feels Is Really 'News Media'

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 16 Jul, 2013 @ 12:15am

  I would define a real journalist as one who rejects the DOJ's definition.

• On the post: Compare: Clapper 'Unscathed' After Lying About Surveillance; Snowden 'Stateless' & 'Hounded' For Revealing Those Lies

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 12 Jul, 2013 @ 10:52am

  I imagine Clapper "bluntly" told the House Intelligence Committee members about his knowledge of the dealers who provide them with cocaine once a month, about their weekly trysts with the nubile interns, and about the numbered, offshore accounts which receive semi-annual deposits from defense contractors.

• On the post: Blind Fear Of Cyberwar Drives Columnist To Call For Elimination Of The Internet

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 01 Jul, 2013 @ 01:34pm

  Re: the convenience of GPS

  I think he was referring to German Porn Sites. :)

• On the post: David Gregory Suggests Glenn Greenwald May Be A Criminal For Doing Journalism

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 24 Jun, 2013 @ 09:08am

  Re: Overreaction

  "To the extent that you've aided and abetted" was the levying of a direct charge. There was no equivocation, it was not subjunctive, nor was there any attribution to a third party.
  
  The question was akin to, "Since you have beaten and battered your wife, do you think it is time you stopped."

• On the post: Leaked: NSA's Talking Points Defending NSA Surveillance

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 14 Jun, 2013 @ 06:52am

  Re:

  By "REALLY careful" do you mean 51% certain?

• On the post: Edward Snowden: Whistleblower Behind Leaks Outs Himself

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 09 Jun, 2013 @ 09:37pm

  If you are correct

  If all of the data collection that the government has been engaging in is on the up-and-up, why the need for secrecy?

• On the post: Why Did Congress Abdicate Its Power To Make Copyright Policy?

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 06 Jun, 2013 @ 03:41pm

  Why should this be a problem?

  The U.S. has never been in compliance with the WIPO Copyright Treaty as the U.S. does not recognize "moral rights" as laid out in Article 5.

• On the post: Comcast's Top Lobbyist Pens Editorial To Remind Americans That US Broadband Service Is Awesome

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 05 Jun, 2013 @ 11:22am

  This is not the ping you're looking for

  It is possible for a switch/router to determine the length of a cable connected to one of its ports using time-domain reflectometry (I just bought a switch that does this to minimize power consumption). One might even call this TDR approach as measuring a "ping delay", though this would not be the same as an ICMP "ping".
  
  Even still, the only way Wally's point would matter is if the intranet connecting to the Google router was itself a token ring. I don't see this as a likelihood -- why would Google require their customers run a token ring network (and purchase specialized hardware) when nearly all commodity hardware and software is designed for ethernet?

• On the post: Comcast's Top Lobbyist Pens Editorial To Remind Americans That US Broadband Service Is Awesome

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 05 Jun, 2013 @ 07:58am

  I don't understand

  Why couldn't you have just one device, a multi-port switch, connected to the MAU box and thus (by connecting all of your intranet workstations to the switch) maintain full gigabit access to the internet?

• On the post: Eric Holder's 'Off-The-Record' Meeting With Journalists Leads To 'On-The-Record' Quotes, But Not Much Else

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 04 Jun, 2013 @ 12:47am

  I think the main problem is that the Attorney General views the Constitution as a "policy guideline".

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

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 27 May, 2013 @ 06:22pm

  That's entertainment

  I have to admit, I find the idea of authorizing the victims of illicit computer hacking -- who've for the most part demonstrated a lack of competence in matters of computer security -- to now go after those who've already outsmarted them to be somewhat amusing. Sort of like sending a bunch of hens out on a fox hunt.

• On the post: RIAA: The Copyright Reform We Need Is To Make Everyone Else Copyright Cops

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 24 May, 2013 @ 07:55am

  *new* business model

  Maybe layoff the "anti-piracy" team -- since clearly that's not working for you -- and hire a "new business model" or "innovation" team, and give them a shot to help your members.

  
  Maybe hire Jonathon Coulton, Alex Day, or better still Psy to show the way.

• On the post: New Bill Would Stop Patent Trolls From Hiding Behind Shell Companies

  

  saulgoode ( profile ), 22 May, 2013 @ 10:51pm

  And another...

  EFF reports that Senator John Cornyn has introduced the "Patent Abuse Reduction Act".

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