teched’s Techdirt Profile

On the post: New 'Coalition For Responsible Sharing' About To Send Millions Of Take-Down Notices To Stop Researchers Sharing Their Own Papers

teched ( profile ), 12 Oct, 2017 @ 02:43pm

Unfair Contracts?

Under Australian law, a standard form contract is deemed to hold unfair terms if;

- it would cause a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations arising out of the contract

- it is not reasonably necessary in order to protect the legitimate interests of the party who would be advantaged by the term; and

- it would cause detriment (whether financial or otherwise) to a party if it were to be applied or relied on.

Unfair terms in these contracts are deemed to be void.

I suspect that some other countries have similar provisions in contract law (Canada?, France?). I wonder if this will, in the longer terms, influence a move of research to jurisdictions that are more friendly to researcher rights?

On the post: Supreme Court Won't Review US Government Getting To Steal All Of Kim Dotcom's Stuff

teched ( profile ), 03 Oct, 2017 @ 01:28pm

Who's got the best pirates now?

On the post: Music Industry Is Painting A Target On YouTube Ripping Sites, Despite Their Many Non-Infringing Uses

teched ( profile ), 15 Sep, 2017 @ 03:05pm

Simple solutions for simple minds

The Record Labels don't seem to understand that if I can see something on my computer the I can copy it.

It is, after all, my computer and it is under my control.

The simple solution; if you do not want content to be copied, do not post it on YouTube (or anywhere on the internet).

See how that works for your profits.

On the post: Over 190 Engineers & Tech Experts Tell The FCC It's Dead Wrong On Net Neutrality

teched ( profile ), 27 Jul, 2017 @ 05:09am

Good argument, wrong focus

Well, kudos to the engineers, technologists, professors etc for trying to inject some reality into this one-sided hijacking.

Still, I feel that they are missing a small but important point. Chairman Pai's attack on Net Neutrality only applies to the USA, but the internet is a bit bigger than that. So it would be more correct to say that "The sort of rapid innovation the Internet has fueled for the past two decades would come to a sudden and disastrous halt" in the USA.

Look for rapid innovation to come from other countries that actually have competition within the ISP sector. Especially if innovation is stifled in the USA.

Perhaps rather than couch the argument against Pai in terms of creating an internet that limits developers and engineers, it would be better to argue that killing net Neutrality would cause the USA to lose its lead in development of new products and internet technology.

On the post: DHS Confirms There Will Be More And Greater Intrusiveness During Border Searches

teched ( profile ), 19 Jul, 2017 @ 03:06pm

Security Theater

On a recent trip, I boarded a flight from Frankfurt International Airport.

After passing through security screening at Frankfurt, I noticed a shop selling nail scissors, clippers, manicure sets, and Swiss Army knives. These were all available to take on board international flights exiting Germany.

I asked the vendor about travel requirements for these items and was told that recent changes to regulations meant that knives with a blade length of under 6cm are now allowed on international flights.

Nice to see some countries toning down the terror-induced hysteria involved in air travel.

On the other hand, it is now quite easy to fly to the USA armed with a few Swiss Army knives. The 9/11 terrorists had carpet cutters. But, after you have hijacked a plane and crashed it into a building somewhere, your phone will be searched.

On the post: Canadian Supreme Court Says It's Fine To Censor The Global Internet; Authoritarians & Hollywood Cheer…

teched ( profile ), 28 Jun, 2017 @ 01:43pm

Making search engines better

It is probably time that Google automatically included search results from other popular search engines into its own results. Like DuckDTuckGo and others do.

That way, any court that tries this trick will have to ask all search engines to comply with its order, or go pound sand.

On the post: May And Macron's Ridiculous Adventure In Censoring The Internet

teched ( profile ), 15 Jun, 2017 @ 09:14pm

If only we could go back in time

Calls for Brexit were surely inflammatory content and would have been banned.

On the post: James Clapper Says Nerd Magic Can Solve Terrorist Content Filtering, Create Safe Encryption Backdoors

teched ( profile ), 15 Jun, 2017 @ 09:09pm

Ned to try a new narrative

It is obvious that our glorious leaders just don't buy the "it can't be done" argument. Time for a new argument from the tech community.

I suggest this; There is no unbreakable encryption, the problem is encryption that takes 10 billion years to break using current technology. An obvious solution presents itself - make computers 100 billion times faster. Then encryption can be broken in a little over a month.

We need to call on governments to invest billions of dollars in basic research, so that we can make computers faster and fight terrorism!

This would have the advantages that it shifts the narrative into something our glorious leaders can understand ($$) and that more basic research tends to benefit everyone.

Omit to tell them that, when they actually develop the new quantum supercomputer, I will just add a couple of digits to my passwords and they will have to start all over again.

On the post: Telenor Looks To Lead The Anti-Troll Fight In Europe

teched ( profile ), 02 Jun, 2017 @ 03:17pm

About those IP addresses

I would just like to point out that, because I live in regional Australia and have no other good option, I use satellite internet.

That means my IP address is shared with around 60,000 other users of that satellite. Troll that!

On the post: UK Government Department Says It Will Cost $7 To Send It An Email, But Only If You Are A Foreigner

teched ( profile ), 02 Jun, 2017 @ 02:27pm

Would anyone from the UK who wishes to send me an email please deposit $7 into my PayPal account?

Thanks.

On the post: FCC Commissioner Wants To Ban States From Protecting Consumer Broadband Privacy

teched ( profile ), 18 May, 2017 @ 04:05pm

Re: Curious

I'm curious what ISP Pai and O'Rielly use.

It is becoming an established principle of governance that the person in charge of regulating X should not have any experience of using X.

Impartiality perhaps?

On the post: FCC Ignores The Will Of The Public, Votes To Begin Dismantling Net Neutrality

teched ( profile ), 18 May, 2017 @ 03:27pm

This is a tech fight, use tech not words

The only way to hurt ISPs is to use tech to bypass them. That is, stop using an entrenched ISP to access the internet and go to a different technology.

That is how Uber upset the taxi cartels, and how AirBnb upset the Hotel industry.

Of course ISPs know this and are very frightened of it. That is why municipal broadband is so difficult to implement. Perhaps satellite internet is becoming a viable means of bypassing your ISP. Watch for laws banning unsightly dishes on rooftops.

On the post: The MP3 Is About As 'Dead' As Pepe The Frog

teched ( profile ), 15 May, 2017 @ 02:36pm

mp3 alive and well, critical reporting may be on its last legs

On the post: Taser/Axon Separating Defense Lawyers From Body Camera Footage With License Agreements

teched ( profile ), 08 May, 2017 @ 02:55pm

There appears to be a simple solution...

...but, is pirated evidence admissible in court?

On the post: Chris Dodd 'Stepping Down' From MPAA

teched ( profile ), 01 May, 2017 @ 03:28pm

I hear there's a job opening at the Copyright Office...

On the post: Ex-MI6 Boss: When It Comes To Voting, Pencil And Paper Are 'Much More Secure' Than Electronic Systems

teched ( profile ), 06 Jan, 2017 @ 11:59am

Some of us don'tunderstand this new fangled technology

For those of us who don't know how pencils and paper are made or used, the pencil and paper system is definitely not secure.

Bring back chisels and stone tablets.

On the post: Families Of Orlando Shooting Victims Sue Twitter, Facebook, And Google For 'Supporting Terrorism'

teched ( profile ), 20 Dec, 2016 @ 01:41pm

Missing the point

If enough lawyers chip away at this wall for enough time, they will eventually reach the pile of gold on the other side.

On the post: Uber And California DMV Fight Over Definition Of Self-Driving Cars

teched ( profile ), 16 Dec, 2016 @ 12:20pm

Do you have cruise control?

Then you may need a DMV permit.

Clearly you own a vehicle "...that has the capability of operating or driving the vehicle without the active physical control or monitoring of a natural person...."

On the post: Police Just Found Phone & USB Stick Belonging To Paris Suicide Bomber, After Misplacing It For Almost Two Years

teched ( profile ), 16 Nov, 2016 @ 12:02pm

Under a stack of papers

Belgian stenography?

On the post: Let Them Eat Facts: Why Fact Checking Is Mostly Useless In Convincing Voters

teched ( profile ), 15 Nov, 2016 @ 12:25pm

Simple fix?

In my experience, the times I've been convinced to change my mind, or seen others change their minds, it tends to come when there are long drawn out conversations, exploring the issues in more depth -- with lots of back and forth.

Is it time to ban Twitter, because limiting comments to 140 characters leads to a lack of depth? (This comment is 140 characters in length).

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