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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?
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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"
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