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PC Repair In Texas Now Requires a PI License

JohnnyNapalm writes "In some shocking news out of Texas, PC repair will now require a PI License. Surely this stands to have a substantial impact on small repair shops around the state if upheld. Never fear, however, as the first counter-suit has already been filed."

18 of 729 comments (clear)

  1. On the bright side... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    This should prevent Apple fans using Apple stores as places of worship in that state, since they'll have to close down.

  2. I read it as by Daimanta · · Score: 5, Funny

    "PC Repair in Texas now requires a pi license"

    Want to fix PCs? Recite the first 100 decimal places of pi.

    --
    Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power lost.
    1. Re:I read it as by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 3, Funny

      Want to fix PCs? Recite the first 100 decimal places of pi.

      Given a lot of the people that repair PCs, it would probably be easier for them to get a P.I. license.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
  3. Re:ho boy.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Really what are you and Texas laughing about?

  4. Next week on Slashdot ... by MacTO · · Score: 1, Funny

    Texas computer users thrilled by new law

    A new Texas law that requires PC repairmen to hold a PI license has computer users giggling in glee. One user, Guy Pern told PCMag, "finally, I don't have to worry about those blundering fools deleting the thousands of photos of my children when they format my computer to reinstall Windows XP."

    FBI agent Brute Farce was disappointed though. After arresting Guy Pern he commented to a PCMag reporter, "I guess it makes our job easier because we can just arrest these pervs when they pick up their computers. But I kinda miss the days of breaking down theirs doors and watching them masturbate in their computer chairs."

  5. User License by banished · · Score: 4, Funny

    And I always thought users should be licensed. Silly me.

  6. Re:Slaughterhouse Cases by conlaw · · Score: 5, Funny

    Despite the alarmist tone of TFA, the law is obviously not intended to apply to computer repair. It is meant to apply to those whose work involves the review and analysis of material stored on a computer. In other words, Media Sentry will need a PI license to check Texans' hard drives, but the Geek Squad can just keep on as they have been. Sorry, my Texas friends, but you can't avoid working on your mom's Windows Vista machine by telling her you don't have PI license.

  7. Re:This can shut down many stores and IT workers. by DigiShaman · · Score: 3, Funny

    Oh hell, this would shut down the entire fucking state!

    Don't want to break the law but work in IT? Shut down the servers and start passing out pin and paper. All calculations will take place with personal calculators. After all, we can't touch the data without a PI license.

    --
    Life is not for the lazy.
  8. Re:Slaughterhouse Cases by afidel · · Score: 3, Funny

    Wow, Canada has reinvented the apothecary =)

    --
    There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
  9. Re:Slaughterhouse Cases by nospam007 · · Score: 4, Funny

    >...but do I expect my local PC tech guy to have investigative training? ...

    It's so that they can carry a gun before telling you: "I reformatted your harddrive, you have a backup, don't you?"

  10. Re:Slaughterhouse Cases by ozmanjusri · · Score: 4, Funny
    If there was ever a time for a Texan to learn how to fix his or her own computer system ... this is it.

    Actually, it would have been a good idea to get started in 2002.

    Your government hasn't given up on the idea that any worker with access to your privacy should inform them of your activities.

    Join the Citizen Corps. Protect your country from terrorism now!

    --
    "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
  11. Re:Slaughterhouse Cases by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    And as far as this case goes, nobody who goes to Best Buy with computer problems is even asking for an investigator -- they just want somebody to install antivirus and make AOL work again.

    To make AOL work again, you don't want a Private Investigator. You want a Miracle Worker.

  12. Re:Slaughterhouse Cases by rohan972 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ever hear the expression "Never judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes"?

    Yes, that way if he gets angry with you he's a mile away, and barefoot.

  13. Re:Slaughterhouse Cases by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Your government hasn't given up on the idea that any worker with access to your privacy should inform them of your activities.

    Join the Citizen Corps. Protect your country from terrorism now!

    .au? That's not my country.
     

  14. Re:Slaughterhouse Cases by ozmanjusri · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is the internet. You can visit .au domains without a visa.

    --
    "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
  15. Re:Slaughterhouse Cases by Jedi+Alec · · Score: 2, Funny

    I would argue that firing a gun is much more likely to produce evidence against someone than repairing a computer will, but you don't need any kind of license for that in Texas.

    Time to amend the constitution then? The citizen's rights to....reinstall Windows shall not be infringed?

    --

    People replying to my sig annoy me. That's why I change it all the time.
  16. It was a wet and smoky night... by Lodragandraoidh · · Score: 2, Funny

    It was a wet and smoky night, the kind of night that made my teeth itch. I tipped back my fedora as I polished off that last bottle of Crown Royal that had been mocking me from the bottom desk drawer all day, when Gwendolyn Smalls sashayed through my door, dragging her HP Presario - with a look that would make a small baby cry...

    --

    Lodragan Draoidh
    The more you explain it, the more I don't understand it. - Mark Twain
  17. Re:Slaughterhouse Cases by irishdaze · · Score: 2, Funny

    Okay, the very *last* thing I want is some people learning how to do these things for themselves. Ignorant FUDs keep me employed.

    --
    -- Dedicated Cthulhu cultist since 1982 A.C.E.