timmaguire42 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (206)

• On the post: Move Over, Series Of Tubes, The Internet Is Now A Bridge Over A Creek For A Dozen People?

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 13 Mar, 2017 @ 07:38am

  I don't know that I've heard the double-dipping explanation anywhere other than on Techdirt. Which is too bad because it's the best, most understandable, explanation I've come across as to what Net Neutrality is all about and why it's important.

• On the post: They're Back: Copying Is Not Theft And Home Cooking Is Killing Restaurants

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 12 Mar, 2017 @ 04:34am

  Re: blog

  After a comment like that, I was expecting a link to your own site.

• On the post: Daily Deal: VPN Unlimited Subscription

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 10 Mar, 2017 @ 10:52am

  Can I use ti to watch US netflix? They've gotten quite good at sniffing out VPN spoofing by foreigners.

• On the post: UK Intellectual Property Office Refuses Beer Brewery's Request To Block Trademark Application For Whisky

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 09 Mar, 2017 @ 08:34am

  It always bugged me that the brother and sister team of Sarah and Paul McDonald can't open a burger joint using their ancient family name because some schmuck named Kroc got there first. Unlike Copyright and Patent, which are supposed to protect things that are new to encourage the creation of more things that are new, Trademark reaches into the public domain and takes things out and hands them over to private interests.
  
  Trademark law should extend strong protection only to fanciful marks. Words that are part of normal language should get very weak protection applied only to the specific product. If that. Want strong protection? Create something new. Don't steal from the public.

• On the post: TSA Now Making Its Intrusive Searches Even More Gropey & Assaulty

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 06 Mar, 2017 @ 05:39pm

  Re: Re: "Every Nation gets the Government it deserves!"

  People in democracies get the government they deserve.
  
  Most people don't vote based on TSA policy, they vote based on a basket of issues and some compromise. Just because the politicians support TSA for everybody except themselves doesn't mean the people deserve it--it's not that easy to change federal policy.

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

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 05 Mar, 2017 @ 05:34pm

  "But declaring Trump to be in the same league? Take Obama's worst lie and put it into a Trump speech. It would go entirely unnoticed, overshadowed by far worse Trump claims."
  
  That's such a load of ignorant partisan garbage I'm amazed it didn't take first prize for insightful.
  
  I refute you thus: If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.
  
  Idiot.

• On the post: EFF: Data Collected From Utility Smart Meters Should Be Protected By The Fourth Amendment

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 03 Mar, 2017 @ 07:10am

  The whole point of the smart meter is to cope with the effects of government created shortages. Cheap energy is the most important thing we can provide for the poor. Today's environmentalism (not least the insatiable god of Global Warming) creates fake crises in order to drive up the cost of energy so instead of being safe and comfortable, our poor will shiver in the dark.
  
  Environmentalism is the reason government officials give when they want to search your trash, when they want to see where you drive and when, and now when you wake up and when you watch TV. Next it will be which room you are in and even when you flush the toilet and what it is you're flushing. (Think smart water meters aren't coming?) All the things our concept of basic human rights tells us the government shouldn't do, it does in the name of environmentalism and the progressives cheer them on.
  
  Complaints about the 4th amendment dangers of smart meters, while legitimate, miss the real issue. Progress!

• On the post: California City Finds Optimum Balance Between Safety And Profit, Trims Yellow Light Times To Produce Spike In Citations

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 02 Mar, 2017 @ 10:33am

  Re:

  Absolutely right. This shows that most red light violations are the result of drivers misjudging how much time they have to stop when the light turns yellow. It's not surprising that actual incidents of someone running a red light are in fact quite rare. How often do you see it happen in your daily commute? Never? Almost never?
  
  More evidence that red light cameras are a scam.

• On the post: Arizona House Kills Bill That Would Punish Protesters By Seizing Their Assets

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 28 Feb, 2017 @ 10:27am

  I don't see why you make a big deal about how he said nice things about Sonny as he killed Sonny's bill. He may need to maintain a working relationship with Sonny. The important thing is he killed Sonny's bill. (This is the point at which I might say "chess, not checkers" but I'm not sure you're even playing checkers over here.)

• On the post: Just To Be Safe, We're Resetting All Techdirt Passwords In Response To Cloudbleed

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 27 Feb, 2017 @ 05:46am

  Re: Re:

  Thanks (I'm the AC above). I know my concerns are stupid since people who know internet security far better than me all advise some sort of password wallet, it's just hard for my abacus-level brain to wrap around when it seems like all those same security professionals keep getting hacked.

• On the post: China Orders Every Vehicle In Region Troubled By Ethnic Unrest To Be Fitted With Satnav Tracker

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 27 Feb, 2017 @ 05:22am

  Re:

  You misspelled "Hillary." But that's ok. She lost.

• On the post: China Orders Every Vehicle In Region Troubled By Ethnic Unrest To Be Fitted With Satnav Tracker

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 27 Feb, 2017 @ 05:20am

  Re: We'll get it too

  Self-driving cars pretty well have to. And states that institute a per-mile driving tax will be the first to require reporting of the tracking. For the environment!

• On the post: 'Fake News' Now Means Whatever People Want It To Mean, And Legislating It Away Is A Slippery Slope Toward Censorship

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 27 Feb, 2017 @ 10:01am

  "The discussion about "fake news" certainly began with good intentions"
  
  Oh! Wrong right out of the gate.
  
  There was never nay evidence that people were influenced by fake news on social media. This was just losers trying to delegitimize an election they lost, abetted by a news media trying to rescue its own reputation after a period of transparent dishonesty and partisan manipulation (so brazen most major outlets even admitted it).

• On the post: Federal Election Commission Member Quits, Says Agency Refuses To Address Campaign Finance Violations

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 25 Feb, 2017 @ 04:10am

  Most of the FEC's remit is blatantly unconstitutional under the first amendment, so I'm not too upset that they are so dysfunctional that they can't quash people's basic rights as efficiently as some desire.
  
  They don't play any role in Trump's promise to drain the swamp--a vital promise that he is currently putting the necesary pieces in place to fulfill. (Whether or not he's successful--the swamp is tenacious and self-refilling.) any sane sensible person who cares about good government should be supporting him in this effort.

• On the post: Mashable Says You Shouldn't Own What You Buy Because You Might Hurt Yourself

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 23 Feb, 2017 @ 06:35am

  "this is why I find point/counterpoint arguments so useless"
  
  No, this is an example of why point/counterpoint is so valuable. People get to see both arguments and ridicule the one they think is stupid.
  
  You're making the same mistake Ulanoff did--you've made up your mind so nobody else gets to make up theirs.

• On the post: Mashable Says You Shouldn't Own What You Buy Because You Might Hurt Yourself

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 23 Feb, 2017 @ 06:08am

  Public safety--the last refuge of the scoundrel.

• On the post: Coalition Slams DHS Plans To Demand Social Media Passwords

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 23 Feb, 2017 @ 04:52am

  Well, it would reduce a lot of the spam on the internet if Nigeria could just demand our bank passwords at the border.

• On the post: Court To Cop: You Took 80 Days Away From A Person's Life With A Baseless Warrant, So We're Taking Your Immunity

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 22 Feb, 2017 @ 07:15am

  Re: Who would sign an arrest warrant under these circumstances?

  Exactly! Did "Officer" Munday lie on his warrant application? If not, then it should not be on him, it should be on the judge. The whole point of the warrant requirement is negated if "the cop asked for it" is good enough.

• On the post: After Losing 10,000 Viewers Per Day, ESPN Finally Buckles To Offering Standalone Streaming Video Service

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 22 Feb, 2017 @ 07:23am

  It still won't be available in Canada, so I will have no choice but to continue pirating the sports broadcasts I would happily pay for if the people selling them were willing to take my money.

• On the post: UK Schools Experiment With Police-Style Body Cameras To Tackle 'Low-level Background Disorder'

  

  timmaguire42 ( profile ), 22 Feb, 2017 @ 06:56am

  How come getting educational results back to the way they were when we liked them never involves returning to the methods that achieved those results?

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