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Hundreds Apply For FAA Drone Licenses
itwbennett writes: The Federal Aviation Administration has issued eight more commercial drone licenses, the latest approvals for several hundred applications it has received. The newest licenses went to companies planning to use drones for video and TV production, aerial photography and surveying and inspecting flare stacks in the oil, natural gas and petro-chemical industry.
Other readers sent in followups to last week's stories about an enthusiast's drone that crashed onto the White House grounds, and the subsequent firmware update from the drone's manufacturer to enforce a no-fly zone in that area. The EFF argues that this is a shortsighted solution and only serves to highlight how the concept of ownership is increasingly being pulled out of users' hands. Meanwhile, such "no-fly zone" updates give rise to a host of liability issues for manufacturers and enthusiasts alike.
The issue is when manufacturers change the product you bought without your consent, after you've bought it. In the case of the self-braking car, that's not wrestling ownership away from anybody. That's a feature that existed when you bought the car, and one that you probably paid a premium for.
If they added this functionality without your permission after the purchase, then there's a big issue. It doesn't matter if they're adding or removing features at all. This is why I always disable autoupdates of connected devices when possible, otherwise I firewall them off or just don't connect them to the net, otherwise I don't buy them.
This no-fly zone feature has been around for quite a while on their high-end models, to prevent users flying over an airport - see http://www.dji.com/fly-safe/ca...
Also, last time I checked the firmware update process involved connecting the quadcopter to a PC via a USB cable, so it's not like new rules are being applied without the user knowing.
people were rightfully upset when sony removed linux from the PS3, this isnt any different.
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
Maybe they could require registration for commercially purchased drones. But what stops me from building a drone in my garage and zipping it around the neighborhood?
If you forgo this update, you don't get any further bug fixes, added features etc. Just like with the PS3... you could refuse the update that removed the "Other OS" feature, but that meant not getting any future updates, not being able to play future games, and not being able to watch future BluRay movies.
The White House is prohibited airspace (P-56). There are no conditions in which a civilian would be allowed to operate there (otherwise it would merely be restricted airspace, and you could obtain permission). You pretty much have to be the President's helicopter to be allowed in (that is, convince the folks with the missiles to not shoot you down, which they will do if you don't comply with their fighter-jet intercept).
The rules for operating in the DC SFRA can not be complied with by any drone on the market today (they require radio communication and a discrete transponder code).
I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
You still don't get it, do you? I cannot turn off the ability to see the unblocked numbers. That has NOTHING to do with blocking my own number.
Sure,I can block my outgoing number, but there is NO guarantee that the system will respect that setting - YMMV - because the caller info can pass through multiple carriers, and they ALL get your caller #. It's how they bill. Your number is only blocked (if it is) when the final connection is made to your phone.
Before they blocked that at the termination and introduced caller ID as an extra-cost feature, you could buy a pc card that would allow you to see who was calling, because none of the carriers blocked it at the last mile.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.