"forgetting to censor something"
They didn't "forget" to censor anything, they weren't planning on it. The DoD just came in after and told them they had to.
Exactly like Icegryphon said.
Scratching disks is a known problem that the Xbox360 is famous for, and Microsoft has admitted to. Many people at one time or another have had there Xbox360 scratch up some disk. There is nothing morally wrong about playing backups of games you own, and in this case people have a legitimate fear that the console is going to eat there disk. No one should have to buy the same game twice.
While a million dollars wouldn't amount for much. It opens the door up for president. It makes it much, much, easier for people to sue again over the same thing. And if Microsoft ends up getting successfully sued every time they pull something like this, they'll be less likely to do it again.
My spelling and hand writing are absolutely atrocious, and would be with or without computers as I'm mildly dyslexic (this has been tested and documented).
In the case of my spelling however, I've found it improving as I use computers. When I have a spell check constantly telling me what I'm doing wrong and how to fix it, eventually some things stick. It doesn't work for everything (such as using the wrong word with the right spelling), but it helps. Not to mention being able to hand in work that's nicely typed and legible, something that would be difficult for me otherwise.
I wasn't necessarily talking about the United States' definition of free speech, but perhaps I could have used a better word.
I'm trying to make the point that no one, not even the government, should be able to prosecute you for what you say (or think as the case may be). The problem isn't so clear in most modernized countries, but what about cases where the government's idea of prosecutable speech goes beyond slander? North Korea and China come to mind. If anyone (the government or otherwise) has the means to track you down, then eventually it will be abused.
This is a difficult point to argue over something like this (I'm in no way defending what this guy did). But when you start to make exceptions someone is bound to eventually make an exception that you don't like. The best way to prevent abuse is to make it impossible to make exceptions in the first place.
'The protection of the right to communicate anonymously must be balanced against the need to assure that those persons who choose to abuse the opportunities presented by this medium can be made to answer for such transgressions.'
This is a dangerous road to go down. "Yes you have anonymity, unless you say something we don't like. Then we get to sue/jail/etc. you". Not many people will get upset over something like this, where what's being said is truly distasteful. But in order for people to truly have "free speach", we need to be given true anonymity unconditionally.
Unlike the kindle, Sony doesn't have the power to remove books from your device. At least not until you sync to your computer. But let's look at the track record of deleted books from users eBook readers:
Amazon: 1
Sony: 0
Slashdot Mirror
I don't think the copyright holders will be any better off if you buy the cart at a flea-market versus downloading the ROM.
"forgetting to censor something" They didn't "forget" to censor anything, they weren't planning on it. The DoD just came in after and told them they had to.
Excuse my dyslexia. Not everyone has flawless spelling.
Exactly like Icegryphon said. Scratching disks is a known problem that the Xbox360 is famous for, and Microsoft has admitted to. Many people at one time or another have had there Xbox360 scratch up some disk. There is nothing morally wrong about playing backups of games you own, and in this case people have a legitimate fear that the console is going to eat there disk. No one should have to buy the same game twice.
While a million dollars wouldn't amount for much. It opens the door up for president. It makes it much, much, easier for people to sue again over the same thing. And if Microsoft ends up getting successfully sued every time they pull something like this, they'll be less likely to do it again.
My spelling and hand writing are absolutely atrocious, and would be with or without computers as I'm mildly dyslexic (this has been tested and documented). In the case of my spelling however, I've found it improving as I use computers. When I have a spell check constantly telling me what I'm doing wrong and how to fix it, eventually some things stick. It doesn't work for everything (such as using the wrong word with the right spelling), but it helps. Not to mention being able to hand in work that's nicely typed and legible, something that would be difficult for me otherwise.
I wasn't necessarily talking about the United States' definition of free speech, but perhaps I could have used a better word. I'm trying to make the point that no one, not even the government, should be able to prosecute you for what you say (or think as the case may be). The problem isn't so clear in most modernized countries, but what about cases where the government's idea of prosecutable speech goes beyond slander? North Korea and China come to mind. If anyone (the government or otherwise) has the means to track you down, then eventually it will be abused. This is a difficult point to argue over something like this (I'm in no way defending what this guy did). But when you start to make exceptions someone is bound to eventually make an exception that you don't like. The best way to prevent abuse is to make it impossible to make exceptions in the first place.
'The protection of the right to communicate anonymously must be balanced against the need to assure that those persons who choose to abuse the opportunities presented by this medium can be made to answer for such transgressions.'
This is a dangerous road to go down. "Yes you have anonymity, unless you say something we don't like. Then we get to sue/jail/etc. you". Not many people will get upset over something like this, where what's being said is truly distasteful. But in order for people to truly have "free speach", we need to be given true anonymity unconditionally.
Unlike the kindle, Sony doesn't have the power to remove books from your device. At least not until you sync to your computer. But let's look at the track record of deleted books from users eBook readers: Amazon: 1 Sony: 0