They do market to the masses, not just the geeks and such. My wife who is woefully ignorant of anything computers and even has trouble programming the features on her cell phone, can easily handle the features and calling principles in Skype.
You have to admit that they did do a very good job in marketing and whom ever was responsible for that marketing should see a nice reward.
I don't know where you got the idea that their voice quality was so poor. The calls that I've made on it are fabulous and my wife has been trained to just open her laptop, click Skype, select who she wants to chat with, and when they answer, just sit and chat with a very good sounding speaker phone. It's really cool to see her doing that.
Remember that many of us on here have families that don't have a clue about/. or what we all do on here. There is a whole wide world out there of what I affectionately refer to as "Normal People"..:-)
There are those pundits out there that for whatever reason are absolutely towing the Microsoft line and even in here... slashdot.... peppering the pages with junk. First off; if Microsoft really believes they have been wronged, they need to bring it before the courts. Now. This playing the media thing just isn't workin'!
Frankly if they don't have any legal foot to stand on, then they; Microsoft, and all their friends and supporters, need to stop this charade now. I bet it wouldn't be too long before someone takes Microsoft to task under the laws of slander for the junk being peppered in the news, et al.
I did. Went out and just got my very first iPod, and lovin it! No worries with this thing. I don't have to subscribe to the ever morphing way of thinking and greedy ways of cheating folks out of their money. I have absolutely no problem with the Apple iTunes way. And this pretty much describes my library. A lot of these tracks are replacing stuff that was taken by an ex-wife years ago, and where possible, CD's were purchased and then ripped back into iTunes. I even just dropped Napster because the cost of everything has become obscene and the ever-changing DRM in Microsoft and Napster just finally caused me enough grief that;... well, we're done.
Won't be buying anything else from Microsoft at this point. My last experience with the XBox kind of solidified that!
This does make one ask a lot of questions about what the hell is going on out there that they would literally stoop this low. Obviously this looks like some litigator that is borderline desperate for quick cash and found a sucker.
Being in a couple bands myself raises the question about what happens now to all of the "cover" bands out there. Do we all become original music bands now? That sure would dwindle the band counts available for those local eating and drinking establishments not to mention the availability for private affairs. And if we do have to start paying fees, how would they set that up? I know a few copyright owners would insist that the songs be valued by popularity so the ones that people want to hear would also cost an "arm and a leg" to license, and could only be performed by cover bands that were being paid sufficiently to be able to pay out those fees. This whole thing is beginning to stink a lot.
I'm now hearkening back to a line I heard in the movie "Back To The Future II" where Chris says something to the effect of; "Justice moves swiftly now that they've abolished all lawyers!".
I swear that if some bozo comes in and tells my kid he can no longer practice is fingering or such on his instrument to a popular song, I would probably go to Washington and seek ways to get rid of the damned greedy lawyers.
Alright... Why are we all here listening to this rhetoric coming from a buffoon that has absolutely no credibility with anyone anymore. This is the same person who also calls all of us that own an iPod and spend money at Apple's iTunes store,... music thieves! Come one people!
I will stick with the Linux builds that I am using and accustomed to and no spew from the gums of Balmer will make me change to anything they have. Period. Microsoft lost all credibility with me years ago when I watched some of their henchmen come in and ruin a friends business because he wanted to start selling Linux and Apple computers.
This is really difficult since Sony has their hands into so many venues that it would be hard to count them all. I can remember back when Sony was the Cadillac of anything electronic. I was a full time licensed servicer for all of their product lines from consumer through broadcast and industrial.
The combinations of the root kit debacle, all those cheap crappy quality batteries, and now this issue now make me think there is much more of a problem with Sony's management. They have to compete just like everyone else but it does make you wonder what management is thinking. I do know there is a big problem with influence coming from the RIAA and the MPAA who are behind much of the DCMA garbage. Remember lawyers smell money. They smell money even when its in the vicinity.
From what I read about this retailer, I could not find anything wrong that he was doing. So the lawyers ganged up on him in a distinct attempt to run him out and lock control of the product back in Sony's hands. This smells like Sony once again attempting to lock their product such that they can maintain all controls over it... probably even price. Who's to say that the lawyers didn't influence Sony into this thinking and ultimately this litigation?!
Boy do I smell a rat.
However, I still have all my legacy Sony electronics for which I will NOT get rid of but will still look back on with fondness. Even my original Sony walkman TPS-L2 which still is working perfectly since the day I bought it brand new from Sony Sound Center in downtown Minneapolis Minnesota back about August 1978! I have a whole lot of Sony product at home that I see no reason to get rid of even for such an emotional issue as this. At one time, Sony was the best. Plain and simple. They used to put out the most innovative, ahead-of-its-time products you could imagine. I don't know what happened to Sony's former self, but I would like to see it come back.
I still do like some of those shows and movies, and it does not really empart any point to Sony to hurt those markets. They are not of the same problem. I would recommend specifically targeting the game and related products since this is what Sony's lawyers are doing. If the sales of the product plummet, then they will probably try to pin it to something else, but eventually people talk, and it will get back to them about the crappy marketing attitudes and tactics going on. If they try the same tactics on other products or venues, then the same resultant boycott can ensue. A total boycott, if truely effective, could shut down the company for good and then this hurts much more than the consumer. Think of this too; If theres a game you absolutely want but is only available on the PSP, then wait. It will ultimately be noticed and someone will begin to make versions for other consoles. It is after all; just a game.
This isn't really true either since Pascal or Object Pascal; aka Delphi isn't showing up in there either. This is definitely post-internet code and fortunately I know many a place to find code lib's not to mention all the lines of code I did for years that are still on boxes of floppies and CD's. I think they need to really allow a more complete search and rather not limit it to what they *feel* is relavent.
It's getting so bad now that they're almost stepping on their own toes trying to get around something that they did earlier and is now carrying the potential for self-incrimination... at the expense of trying to "own" the media player market now.
What a trip! This is going to be fun to watch. I personally will not buy such a device since my belief is that it will be built as crappy as my kid's XBox. I will still stick by the iPod.
Come on Micro$oft. the only way you'll disseminate and conquer is to go in and try to do a hostile take-over on Apple...:-)
If this is allowed to stand, it paves the way for tearing down the Sony vs Paramount precident which gave us all the ability to use any tape recorder for recording sounds or video. At some point, it would be illegal to own any cassette recorder, VCR or any digitizing device (aka computer!) as these devices would be simply tied to illegal copying. I swear, I smell the pundgent scent of lawyers nearby causing all this fuss.
I like the line in Back To The Future Pt. II, "Justice works swiftly now that they've abolished all lawyers"...
Well. Looks like the prices are going up for DISH network and if I read it right, the increase has already happened. I cancelled my subscription last month because it was just getting to costly to have, and I think that now it's going to go up in order to offset that award and fine they'll be paying!
I think the real reason for their canning this was that they couldn't find the market for charging $50 for 5 minutes of broadband time on the flights!
You have to remember that anything in or around an airport costs as much as 2000 times its actual value. What made you think they wouldn't try this with broadband?
I looked at this site too and to me two things are coming to mind. This is bait for the RIAA and as usual, there has to be a lawyer involved somewhere...! The other possibility is that this will be a plant by the RIAA to get you the listener to download this by which they then will find it on your box and send a suit invitation your way..!:-)
There were precidents that were tested some time back. Don't remember when or where, but it was determined that the root or first version of the license was the most enforcable. Language that could potentially annul a predicating agreement was illegal.
First off, I hate the thought of anything "phoning home" on my computers... Windows or otherwise. When I originally purchased Windows, I was not under any... read that ANY duress or instruction that I would have to be subjected to "monitoring" in order to use this software. To me, the original license agreement is still standing and fully in force. This works two ways Microsoft.
I triple dare you to turn off my machine! Go right ahead and do it! Please... I'm looking to get rich rather quickly and so is the lawyer friend I have who will tell you the same thing.
If I choose not to have this parasite on my box... for any reason what-so-ever, I can remove it at NO penalty or cost. You have absolutely NO SAY IN THE MATTER.
If I remove this parasite, and your company turns off my legally purchased and licensed copies of the OS, you will be summarilly dragged through the court system. Oh, and I have a news flash for you. Everybody knows your tactic of your company has more lawyers and enough money to keep it tied up in court for years, Guess what, knowing there is a giant carrot at the end of the line, you'll be in court spending all your money on the lawyers, while these will be operating on the promise of huge payoffs at the end.
YOU TURN OFF MY LEGALLY LICENSED COPIES OF WINDOWS, YOU ARE IN BREACH OF YOUR OWN EULA. You will be paying me back a whole lot more than the cost of the OS!
If you own a wireless router, it is much like any other "broadcasting" device such as 900mhz cordless phones, wireless digital cameras, micro FM transmitters, et al., these send signals out in all directions and without regard to what is capable of picking them up.
There is NO law that says that they cannot receive the signal and with the case of the network connection, hook into your network connection. Anyone can receive the signal and do whatever with it, which does include listening (ie camping on the line and listening at conversations or traffic. Digital or otherwise) Key in on that word, "Receive".
Fact is that technically, where it stops is that it's illegal for someone to go into your network without your permission. If you have what is advertised as an open connection to the internet with your business, without a way to confine it to patrons, then you simply have no recourse. This guy was simply taking advantage of an "Open" connection. This shop should have secured it and required patrons to somehow use an automation process to allow the router to let them on, probably controllable by the proprietor. Most likely by MAC address which last I looked, is externally posted on each and every networkable device including wireless devices. I've heard some of them require you to sign up ahead of time and provide this information. And this makes sense as you could then go to just about any of the franchises and get on with impunity.
The fact that he was a registered sex offender is also irrelavent. They simply got "lucky" when the officers came out to investigate the complaint.
You are *supposed* to secure your wireless router when you purchase it and install it. Unfortunately, they sell these things to everyone including your local village-idiots who barely can read a kids book let alone an owners manual for one of these devices. Thats why you can drive around in just about any neighborhood and scope out hundreds of *open* WIFI points.
Unless someone goes into your connection and does over $50,000 in reportable (and I do mean business reportable) damages, you have simply no recourse. I've been there and seen it. Found out the hard way from law enforcement officials. Fricken punk high schoolers that want to hack into your Linux server for whatever reason at your house, just for the bragging rights at school, and you might as well just get over it and format the thing and reinstall. You can't even sue them in concilliation court as there technically is no monatary damages to something in the home or even a lot of "small" business unless you can meet that $50,000 minimum in postable, reportable damages. For most of us, this ain't going to happen.
Wait until Congress dreams up a silly law requiring you to secure your access point for fear of stiff fines or imprisonment! I can see it now. Strange white vans combing the neighborhoods with silly looking loop antennas on the roofs and watching it stop... and go... and stop... and go... and go... and... oh... stop... and go... and so on and so on.
Has anyone noticed the steep logrithmic rise in ID theft and related crimes? The trickery and sheer number of successful thefts keeps them coming back for more and more every day!
The problem is that Congress is unwilling to deal with the problem. The laws that apply to someone who commits ID theft are comparable to "petty theft". They absolutely won't do anything about changing it either. I wonder why that is??
Fact is that suing the companies that had an asset stolen, or have employees that fell victim to a well socially engineered web page that was broght up by a DNS hack, or who knows what, is not the solution.
We're flat-out making it profitable and easy to do for these thieves. Why are we not changing the laws to make it painful for someone who commits this???
On the upcoming eve of the next election cycle, many companies are scrambling to take advantage of laws that allow them to munge and mangle the economy for the benefit of their coffers. Having survived this now a number of times, I am just about to the point of saying enough is enough.
If it were me in that position, the severance packages are all pretty much worthless unless your an exiting CEO, CFO or similar. You would be better off to just give them the middle finger, wish em well and hike it out the door and quite literally letting the door slam on the way out.
There are cost cutting efforts and then there is this. Twice I took severance packages and both times I got screwed big-time.
Leave em hanging! They want to save big bucks but make the top people lots of cash... let them do it on their own~!!! We are the ones that did the WORK that got them where they are. They want us to train someone else to do what we know, lets talk some rather large 6 figure salaries for doing that. We were not hired on as corporate technical "Trainers" or "Educators", and is not part of the job description. Odds are also that you still have to pay off student loans for that degree you spent a lot of your life obtaining. Its not worth it. Leave em hanging!!!
They're beginning to feed off of each other now. They've squeezed out all the cash they can from "Joe Consumer", and now they're beginning to use law to force someone to not step away from something he had nothing to do with in the first place.
If this is true, and the way the opening para's read like it is, then this is now dangerously close to the justice system collapsing in on itself very soon here in this country.
I probably agree but some of the "tests" have been successful as far as the metrics the power companies were gathering was concerned. You will have places like in the south where the "good ole boy" mentality and attitude will always win out no matter what.
Then there is the matter of the $$$. There seems to be an abundance of it in certian markets. I wonder why that is??!!!
Personally I believe that BPL will be going through no matter whats wrong with it and all at the expense of profits. Kathleen herself was so behind BPL while she was in charge of the FCC.. I would not at all be surprised to find out that she has a large percentage of her personal portfolio in BPL futures or power companies that have BPL projects and tests in the works. In fact, I wouldn't find it hard to believe that she left the FCC because of a conflict of interest over this issue more than anything. She was not a dumb lady.
Face it folks. I am a licensed ham radio user, and I can hear it on my equipment, other hams I know can and do hear it, and there are demonstrations in video form that demonstrate it; but it never died as a technology because of the potential profits. In fact most of this is now hush-hush because there is so much politics backing it as well. All the research points to big profits for all involved in the BPL industry.
The people here who are bashing those of us complaining, apparently either have absolutely no knowledge of electronics and RF, or are so apathetic to radio in general because they only know the "digital age". Perhaps because they only know of Winamp radio, iTunes, or God forbid;... Windows Media Player radio!
I hate to say this, But the end is near for media as we know it. This will eventually pass. And when it does pass, then it gives ground for breakage of the Sony vs Paramount law that allowed us to have a Betamax or VHS deck in our homes. Once they can successfully get that law overturned, then anyone caught with contraband such as recorded movies on tapes, or disks that are not commerially produced, will be subject to jail time and a substantial monitary damage award. If you think things are bad now, wait until they mandate that all "grandfathered" commercially produced media is now illegal to own or posess, and that you are required to deliver that material to a drop off site for recycling. Oh; and you don't get reimbersed for the money you spent on it either.
Just remember; You voted these bozo's into office in the first place.
The only problem with that is once you plug the other hole up, it will begin to expand and eventually burst. Spewing forth a lot more mess all over the place. Then multiply this by the sheer number of them needing this treatment...
I can't stand to think about it... Wouldn't be able to visit DC for many years and your local state offices would reek of it too...
I'd hate to think of the prospect of something like "The Thing" coming forth then from all that mess... and creating hundreds of thousands more "creatures" that would just come back to do this all over again.
This is the LA times... A newspaper that I've long since saw right through their way of doing business. The story itself is so laughable and worse yet to see people "biting for it" on/.
If you guys really think that these things are used in such large numbers much less at all for carrying planning, logistics and other secret data... you really need to get out more.
I'm sorry but this is another obvious "Bush Basher" paper making up a story to try and oust Bush because they're simply a bunch of 1960's hippies that can't handle war and really aren't interested in protecting the USA.
Come on slashdotters... you guys are smarter than this!
Slashdot Mirror
They do market to the masses, not just the geeks and such. My wife who is woefully ignorant of anything computers and even has trouble programming the features on her cell phone, can easily handle the features and calling principles in Skype.
/. or what we all do on here. There is a whole wide world out there of what I affectionately refer to as "Normal People".. :-)
You have to admit that they did do a very good job in marketing and whom ever was responsible for that marketing should see a nice reward.
I don't know where you got the idea that their voice quality was so poor. The calls that I've made on it are fabulous and my wife has been trained to just open her laptop, click Skype, select who she wants to chat with, and when they answer, just sit and chat with a very good sounding speaker phone. It's really cool to see her doing that.
Remember that many of us on here have families that don't have a clue about
Cheers;
There are those pundits out there that for whatever reason are absolutely towing the Microsoft line and even in here... slashdot.... peppering the pages with junk. First off; if Microsoft really believes they have been wronged, they need to bring it before the courts. Now. This playing the media thing just isn't workin'!
Frankly if they don't have any legal foot to stand on, then they; Microsoft, and all their friends and supporters, need to stop this charade now. I bet it wouldn't be too long before someone takes Microsoft to task under the laws of slander for the junk being peppered in the news, et al.
Tit for Tat.
Just my humble opinion for what it's worth.
I did. Went out and just got my very first iPod, and lovin it! No worries with this thing. I don't have to subscribe to the ever morphing way of thinking and greedy ways of cheating folks out of their money.
I have absolutely no problem with the Apple iTunes way. And this pretty much describes my library. A lot of these tracks are replacing stuff that was taken by an ex-wife years ago, and where possible, CD's were purchased and then ripped back into iTunes. I even just dropped Napster because the cost of everything has become obscene and the ever-changing DRM in Microsoft and Napster just finally caused me enough grief that;... well, we're done.
Won't be buying anything else from Microsoft at this point. My last experience with the XBox kind of solidified that!
iPod Rules!
Cheers
This does make one ask a lot of questions about what the hell is going on out there that they would literally stoop this low. Obviously this looks like some litigator that is borderline desperate for quick cash and found a sucker.
Being in a couple bands myself raises the question about what happens now to all of the "cover" bands out there. Do we all become original music bands now? That sure would dwindle the band counts available for those local eating and drinking establishments not to mention the availability for private affairs. And if we do have to start paying fees, how would they set that up? I know a few copyright owners would insist that the songs be valued by popularity so the ones that people want to hear would also cost an "arm and a leg" to license, and could only be performed by cover bands that were being paid sufficiently to be able to pay out those fees. This whole thing is beginning to stink a lot.
I'm now hearkening back to a line I heard in the movie "Back To The Future II" where Chris says something to the effect of; "Justice moves swiftly now that they've abolished all lawyers!".
I swear that if some bozo comes in and tells my kid he can no longer practice is fingering or such on his instrument to a popular song, I would probably go to Washington and seek ways to get rid of the damned greedy lawyers.
Alright... Why are we all here listening to this rhetoric coming from a buffoon that has absolutely no credibility with anyone anymore. This is the same person who also calls all of us that own an iPod and spend money at Apple's iTunes store,... music thieves! Come one people!
I will stick with the Linux builds that I am using and accustomed to and no spew from the gums of Balmer will make me change to anything they have. Period. Microsoft lost all credibility with me years ago when I watched some of their henchmen come in and ruin a friends business because he wanted to start selling Linux and Apple computers.
Frankly;
This is really difficult since Sony has their hands into so many venues that it would be hard to count them all. I can remember back when Sony was the Cadillac of anything electronic. I was a full time licensed servicer for all of their product lines from consumer through broadcast and industrial.
The combinations of the root kit debacle, all those cheap crappy quality batteries, and now this issue now make me think there is much more of a problem with Sony's management. They have to compete just like everyone else but it does make you wonder what management is thinking. I do know there is a big problem with influence coming from the RIAA and the MPAA who are behind much of the DCMA garbage. Remember lawyers smell money. They smell money even when its in the vicinity.
From what I read about this retailer, I could not find anything wrong that he was doing. So the lawyers ganged up on him in a distinct attempt to run him out and lock control of the product back in Sony's hands. This smells like Sony once again attempting to lock their product such that they can maintain all controls over it... probably even price. Who's to say that the lawyers didn't influence Sony into this thinking and ultimately this litigation?!
Boy do I smell a rat.
However, I still have all my legacy Sony electronics for which I will NOT get rid of but will still look back on with fondness. Even my original Sony walkman TPS-L2 which still is working perfectly since the day I bought it brand new from Sony Sound Center in downtown Minneapolis Minnesota back about August 1978! I have a whole lot of Sony product at home that I see no reason to get rid of even for such an emotional issue as this. At one time, Sony was the best. Plain and simple. They used to put out the most innovative, ahead-of-its-time products you could imagine. I don't know what happened to Sony's former self, but I would like to see it come back.
I still do like some of those shows and movies, and it does not really empart any point to Sony to hurt those markets. They are not of the same problem. I would recommend specifically targeting the game and related products since this is what Sony's lawyers are doing. If the sales of the product plummet, then they will probably try to pin it to something else, but eventually people talk, and it will get back to them about the crappy marketing attitudes and tactics going on. If they try the same tactics on other products or venues, then the same resultant boycott can ensue. A total boycott, if truely effective, could shut down the company for good and then this hurts much more than the consumer. Think of this too; If theres a game you absolutely want but is only available on the PSP, then wait. It will ultimately be noticed and someone will begin to make versions for other consoles. It is after all; just a game.
Just my humble opinion.
Cheers
This isn't really true either since Pascal or Object Pascal; aka Delphi isn't showing up in there either. This is definitely post-internet code and fortunately I know many a place to find code lib's not to mention all the lines of code I did for years that are still on boxes of floppies and CD's. I think they need to really allow a more complete search and rather not limit it to what they *feel* is relavent.
It's getting so bad now that they're almost stepping on their own toes trying to get around something that they did earlier and is now carrying the potential for self-incrimination... at the expense of trying to "own" the media player market now.
:-)
What a trip! This is going to be fun to watch. I personally will not buy such a device since my belief is that it will be built as crappy as my kid's XBox. I will still stick by the iPod.
Come on Micro$oft. the only way you'll disseminate and conquer is to go in and try to do a hostile take-over on Apple...
Cheers
Well???
If this is allowed to stand, it paves the way for tearing down the Sony vs Paramount precident which gave us all the ability to use any tape recorder for recording sounds or video. At some point, it would be illegal to own any cassette recorder, VCR or any digitizing device (aka computer!) as these devices would be simply tied to illegal copying. I swear, I smell the pundgent scent of lawyers nearby causing all this fuss.
I like the line in Back To The Future Pt. II, "Justice works swiftly now that they've abolished all lawyers"...
We're getting very close to this happening.
Now thats funny!!
Well. Looks like the prices are going up for DISH network and if I read it right, the increase has already happened. I cancelled my subscription last month because it was just getting to costly to have, and I think that now it's going to go up in order to offset that award and fine they'll be paying!
Hmmm... Cable TV isn't looking quite so bad now.
I think the real reason for their canning this was that they couldn't find the market for charging $50 for 5 minutes of broadband time on the flights!
You have to remember that anything in or around an airport costs as much as 2000 times its actual value. What made you think they wouldn't try this with broadband?
I looked at this site too and to me two things are coming to mind. This is bait for the RIAA and as usual, there has to be a lawyer involved somewhere...! The other possibility is that this will be a plant by the RIAA to get you the listener to download this by which they then will find it on your box and send a suit invitation your way..! :-)
There were precidents that were tested some time back. Don't remember when or where, but it was determined that the root or first version of the license was the most enforcable. Language that could potentially annul a predicating agreement was illegal.
First off, I hate the thought of anything "phoning home" on my computers... Windows or otherwise. When I originally purchased Windows, I was not under any... read that ANY duress or instruction that I would have to be subjected to "monitoring" in order to use this software. To me, the original license agreement is still standing and fully in force. This works two ways Microsoft.
I triple dare you to turn off my machine! Go right ahead and do it! Please... I'm looking to get rich rather quickly and so is the lawyer friend I have who will tell you the same thing.
If I choose not to have this parasite on my box... for any reason what-so-ever, I can remove it at NO penalty or cost. You have absolutely NO SAY IN THE MATTER.
If I remove this parasite, and your company turns off my legally purchased and licensed copies of the OS, you will be summarilly dragged through the court system. Oh, and I have a news flash for you. Everybody knows your tactic of your company has more lawyers and enough money to keep it tied up in court for years, Guess what, knowing there is a giant carrot at the end of the line, you'll be in court spending all your money on the lawyers, while these will be operating on the promise of huge payoffs at the end.
YOU TURN OFF MY LEGALLY LICENSED COPIES OF WINDOWS, YOU ARE IN BREACH OF YOUR OWN EULA. You will be paying me back a whole lot more than the cost of the OS!
Cheers.
Heres the dope on this;
If you own a wireless router, it is much like any other "broadcasting" device such as 900mhz cordless phones, wireless digital cameras, micro FM transmitters, et al., these send signals out in all directions and without regard to what is capable of picking them up.
There is NO law that says that they cannot receive the signal and with the case of the network connection, hook into your network connection. Anyone can receive the signal and do whatever with it, which does include listening (ie camping on the line and listening at conversations or traffic. Digital or otherwise) Key in on that word, "Receive".
Fact is that technically, where it stops is that it's illegal for someone to go into your network without your permission. If you have what is advertised as an open connection to the internet with your business, without a way to confine it to patrons, then you simply have no recourse. This guy was simply taking advantage of an "Open" connection. This shop should have secured it and required patrons to somehow use an automation process to allow the router to let them on, probably controllable by the proprietor. Most likely by MAC address which last I looked, is externally posted on each and every networkable device including wireless devices. I've heard some of them require you to sign up ahead of time and provide this information. And this makes sense as you could then go to just about any of the franchises and get on with impunity.
The fact that he was a registered sex offender is also irrelavent. They simply got "lucky" when the officers came out to investigate the complaint.
You are *supposed* to secure your wireless router when you purchase it and install it. Unfortunately, they sell these things to everyone including your local village-idiots who barely can read a kids book let alone an owners manual for one of these devices. Thats why you can drive around in just about any neighborhood and scope out hundreds of *open* WIFI points.
Unless someone goes into your connection and does over $50,000 in reportable (and I do mean business reportable) damages, you have simply no recourse. I've been there and seen it. Found out the hard way from law enforcement officials. Fricken punk high schoolers that want to hack into your Linux server for whatever reason at your house, just for the bragging rights at school, and you might as well just get over it and format the thing and reinstall. You can't even sue them in concilliation court as there technically is no monatary damages to something in the home or even a lot of "small" business unless you can meet that $50,000 minimum in postable, reportable damages. For most of us, this ain't going to happen.
Wait until Congress dreams up a silly law requiring you to secure your access point for fear of stiff fines or imprisonment! I can see it now. Strange white vans combing the neighborhoods with silly looking loop antennas on the roofs and watching it stop... and go... and stop... and go... and go... and... oh... stop... and go... and so on and so on.
Cheers.
Has anyone noticed the steep logrithmic rise in ID theft and related crimes? The trickery and sheer number of successful thefts keeps them coming back for more and more every day!
The problem is that Congress is unwilling to deal with the problem. The laws that apply to someone who commits ID theft are comparable to "petty theft". They absolutely won't do anything about changing it either. I wonder why that is??
Fact is that suing the companies that had an asset stolen, or have employees that fell victim to a well socially engineered web page that was broght up by a DNS hack, or who knows what, is not the solution.
We're flat-out making it profitable and easy to do for these thieves. Why are we not changing the laws to make it painful for someone who commits this???
Think about it.
On the upcoming eve of the next election cycle, many companies are scrambling to take advantage of laws that allow them to munge and mangle the economy for the benefit of their coffers. Having survived this now a number of times, I am just about to the point of saying enough is enough.
If it were me in that position, the severance packages are all pretty much worthless unless your an exiting CEO, CFO or similar. You would be better off to just give them the middle finger, wish em well and hike it out the door and quite literally letting the door slam on the way out.
There are cost cutting efforts and then there is this. Twice I took severance packages and both times I got screwed big-time.
Leave em hanging! They want to save big bucks but make the top people lots of cash... let them do it on their own~!!! We are the ones that did the WORK that got them where they are. They want us to train someone else to do what we know, lets talk some rather large 6 figure salaries for doing that. We were not hired on as corporate technical "Trainers" or "Educators", and is not part of the job description. Odds are also that you still have to pay off student loans for that degree you spent a lot of your life obtaining. Its not worth it. Leave em hanging!!!
Just me two cents.
Cheers
They're beginning to feed off of each other now. They've squeezed out all the cash they can from "Joe Consumer", and now they're beginning to use law to force someone to not step away from something he had nothing to do with in the first place.
If this is true, and the way the opening para's read like it is, then this is now dangerously close to the justice system collapsing in on itself very soon here in this country.
I probably agree but some of the "tests" have been successful as far as the metrics the power companies were gathering was concerned. You will have places like in the south where the "good ole boy" mentality and attitude will always win out no matter what.
Then there is the matter of the $$$. There seems to be an abundance of it in certian markets. I wonder why that is??!!!
Cheers
Personally I believe that BPL will be going through no matter whats wrong with it and all at the expense of profits. Kathleen herself was so behind BPL while she was in charge of the FCC.. I would not at all be surprised to find out that she has a large percentage of her personal portfolio in BPL futures or power companies that have BPL projects and tests in the works. In fact, I wouldn't find it hard to believe that she left the FCC because of a conflict of interest over this issue more than anything. She was not a dumb lady.
Face it folks. I am a licensed ham radio user, and I can hear it on my equipment, other hams I know can and do hear it, and there are demonstrations in video form that demonstrate it; but it never died as a technology because of the potential profits. In fact most of this is now hush-hush because there is so much politics backing it as well. All the research points to big profits for all involved in the BPL industry.
The people here who are bashing those of us complaining, apparently either have absolutely no knowledge of electronics and RF, or are so apathetic to radio in general because they only know the "digital age". Perhaps because they only know of Winamp radio, iTunes, or God forbid;... Windows Media Player radio!
I hate to say this, But the end is near for media as we know it. This will eventually pass. And when it does pass, then it gives ground for breakage of the Sony vs Paramount law that allowed us to have a Betamax or VHS deck in our homes. Once they can successfully get that law overturned, then anyone caught with contraband such as recorded movies on tapes, or disks that are not commerially produced, will be subject to jail time and a substantial monitary damage award. If you think things are bad now, wait until they mandate that all "grandfathered" commercially produced media is now illegal to own or posess, and that you are required to deliver that material to a drop off site for recycling. Oh; and you don't get reimbersed for the money you spent on it either.
Just remember;
You voted these bozo's into office in the first place.
The only problem with that is once you plug the other hole up, it will begin to expand and eventually burst. Spewing forth a lot more mess all over the place. Then multiply this by the sheer number of them needing this treatment...
I can't stand to think about it... Wouldn't be able to visit DC for many years and your local state offices would reek of it too...
I'd hate to think of the prospect of something like "The Thing" coming forth then from all that mess... and creating hundreds of thousands more "creatures" that would just come back to do this all over again.
lol
This is the LA times... A newspaper that I've long since saw right through their way of doing business. The story itself is so laughable and worse yet to see people "biting for it" on /.
If you guys really think that these things are used in such large numbers much less at all for carrying planning, logistics and other secret data... you really need to get out more.
I'm sorry but this is another obvious "Bush Basher" paper making up a story to try and oust Bush because they're simply a bunch of 1960's hippies that can't handle war and really aren't interested in protecting the USA.
Come on slashdotters... you guys are smarter than this!