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Florida Law May Accidentally Ban Computers and Smartphones
GrueMaster writes "Did Florida ban computers and smartphones? They tried banning Internet Cafes, but the wording in the law is overly broad. '... it's the wording that's problematic, as it defines a slot machine as "any machine or device or system or network of devices" that can be used in games of chance. Turns out the Internet is full of gambling sites, which is where the definition runs into some problems. Consuelo Zapata, owner of the Miami-Dade county Internet cafe Incredible Investments, LLC, is suing the state (PDF) to overturn the ban, saying that definition is too broad and could be applied to any number of electronic devices. "
Florida is a stupid as Texas, and twice as swampy.
They will be forgotten in a few years...
People responsible for crafting laws should be penalized for poor and vague wording.
Even if it was unintentionally vague (I suspect it is frequently intentional, too).
Talk about overly broad, isn't a coin a device that can be used in a game of chance?
I would abstain from the profanity used, but I think that banning internet cafes should be susceptible to a constitutional challenge.
I'm not a complete idiot... Some parts are missing.
I meant he was a criminal *literally*.
Go look at his record as a corporate CEO.
http://gawker.com/5800990/did-florida-accidentally-ban-sex So, what is there left to do in Florida? Die?
There are reasons why Florida has its own tag on Fark.
This is one of them.
--
BMO
Please stop drawing a distinction between smartphones and computers (and tablets). They are all computers. Allowing the farce of distinction to survive is a major part of the reason smartphones can be classified as "applicances" and don't have to follow laws about openness and intercompatability.
"any machine or device or system or network of devices" that can be used in games of chance.
Anyone driven a car in Florida? Going to the grocery store is a game of chance down there. :-)
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
I draw the distinction based on whether someone else's permission is required for a given program to execute. Android devices are computers; iProducts and game consoles aren't.
In Florida? You obviously don't live here.
I'd go with A hundred and forty legislators voting to ban computers. A lot of them really are that bad at their jobs.
I don't think "criminal" was the profanity that he had in mind.
Well what the fuck was the profanity he had in mind?!!!
The internet cafes in Florida are not like internet cafes in countries outside of the USA. The computers there were literally there to be gambling machines. One such "internet cafe" near me was called "Lucky Day Internet Sweepstakes." I have also been to some of the internet cafes in London and found them to be convenient as a tourist.
That is because you don't understand what is being called an "internet café". There are places here that call themselves "internet cafés" who offer "games" which are actually nothing more than slot machine parlors using virtual slot machines running on PCs.
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
The "internet cafe's" are not what you think of as an internet café. Basically, these are slot machine casinos. You can't get on the internet to check your email or visit a random website. All the computers are essentially virtual slot machines.
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
This sounds like the story in, where was it, Ohio? Where "Internet Cafe" was basically slang/cover for "illegal casino".
Climate Progress - Hell and High Water
You should visit one of these "internet café's". It would be amusing to watch you try to go online and visit Slashdot or check your email, because one can't. As you have never seen or experienced these places, you are going on the name they are using. They aren't calling themselves casinos, slot parlors, gambling dens, etc. because those are illegal. Instead they are using virtual slot machine software on networked computers. There is no general internet access.
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
First off, these aren't the kind of internet cafe' one can go to and get on-line and check one's email or visit a web site. The computers only have gambling program(s) and it is basically a virtual slot machine. These places don't even offer wifi so you can bring your own computer. They are, in effect, illegal casinos.
Second, the law specifically defines the establishments and computers. It only applies to computers which are set up to ONLY run programs that are games of chance and the establishments that have them.
Third, the reason the law talks about internet cafe's is because that is what these places call themselves.
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
Well Florida is the "right to scam" state.
As a naturalized FL native, I can honestly say I've seen scammers at work. I've contracted for scammers, I've been stiffed contracting payment by scammers. I've been paid by scammers for legitimate work.
Florida is the place everyone comes to bleed through investors before opening up a new LLC when the money runs dry. I've seen it in at least 3 separate occasions over the past 10 years. Some businesses will change names and locations when they stiff too many people. They still called to get new cables run for their new offices.
Lest you forget about FL pill mills.
So when the state tries to ban Internet cafes, despite the verbiage being off, it's a good thing. Such businesses exist only to scam people.
They're using their grammar skills there.
Im convinced half of these laws that get passed don't get passed through a competent lawyer to validate and check. So many utterly ludicrous laws get passed that completely violate constitutional protections or are so poorly written they practically handball themselves to completely arbitrary interpretation by possibly hostile judges all of which a simple rewording by a competent lawyer could correct.
I mean how many times do laws get passed banning porn only to get bounced by the courts who by now are surely bored silly with conservative (and under obama occasionally progressive) politicians who havent bothered to even glance at the constitution
Excuse the Unicode crap in my posts. That's an apostrophe, and slashdot is busted.
http://flalottery.com/
Florida's legislature can go fuck themselves. Gambling is either bad or it isn't. If the government is running the largest gambling operation in the country and then turns around an makes other types of gambling illegal, they're doing nothing more than eliminating competition.
Before you jump to defend the internet cafe owner, read his complaint. The "internet cafe" was a disguised gambling den.
TLDR:-
1. Their computers all carry a "Game Display" programme.
2. Buying internet time entitles the user to participate in sweepstakes where they can win prizes. The more time you buy, the more chances you get to join the sweepstakes.
3. The "Game Display" was expressly created to, in their own words, "instill in the patron a sense of excitement and entertainment".
Yes, the law is overly broad and should be reworded, but in this case it did not get the wrong victim.
Having said that, the politicians appear to be equally dirty. There is some suspicion that this legislation was about politicians covering their butts and keeping legalized gambling interests happy.
Isn't he the one who pushed for all people on welfare to be drug tested....by the company his wife owns? Cha-ching!
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
I was very happy to find an Internet cafÃf© with computers having full size keyboards.
Did you happen to notice if those establishments also supported Unicode?
Well what the fuck was the profanity he had in mind?!!!
"Rick Scott"
It should be possible, without a law degree, to deduct the laws of a society directly from common sense. If that is not possible, law makers have failed. Full stop. Problem now is, that whenever a hole in a legislation is found, it is patched with more text, not rewritten. This creates a demand for people who can read obscure texts (lawyers, who are otherwise completely useless to society), but more dangerously, it also creates a system in which you can't be sure you are following the law, even if you're just going about your business.
And once someone breaks one of the obscure laws, revenge is enacted (as opposed to justice) and a prison gains a new resident. Without regard for the fact that a prison is little more than a higher education in criminal conduct. Fixing problems is not on anyone's radar, filling prisons is, because it makes you look tough on [whatever] and let's face it, the person was a criminal, so who cares? There is no incentive to fix the problem, because if crime went away completely you would have to come up with a new topic to appear tough on. Crime is easy, because everyone agrees that it's bad, and that the solution is to take the criminals off the streets, not examine what lead to them becoming a criminal to begin with (and that is even ignoring all the people who didn't know they were committing a crime to begin with).
... whatever
If they pass this they will have to eliminate voting machines in Florida, since the way they work their voting is a "game of chance."
Could be good for the rest of the country...
That doesn't make it a good thing. (My tuition was paid for by a combination of Bright Futures and grants.) Bright futures is not needs based, it's merit based. Consider that buyers of lotto tickets are generally poor, trying to hit it big and that socioeconomic background is well correlated with academic merit. Therefore, the bright futures program is simply wealth redistribution from the poor to the already rich. It's completely ass-backwards. A strong progressive tax structure funding it would make much more sense.
The best thing about UDP jokes is I don't care if you get them or not